February 14th Game Recap: Wizards vs. Blazers

By: Jeremy Hyman

Wizards Beat Blazers on Road

Oh what a night! After playing one of their best games on Sunday night in Detroit, the Wizards followed it up with an even better performance on Tuesday night and beat one of the toughest home teams in the league (Portland 11-3 at home entering Tuesday night) for their second consecutive win.

The Wizards shot a season-high 60% from the field which propelled them to a 124-109 victory over the Trailblazers on Tuesday night in Portland. The fifteen point win marks the first time in franchise history the Wizards have won back-to-back road games by 15 or more points. This was the Wizards first win at Rose Garden since 2005.

The Wizards led after each quarter of play and were able to hold off every Blazers run throughout the game. They played with energy, passion, and never took their foot off the gas pedal, which resulted in a season-high 124 points.

Nick Young had his best shooting performance of the season, as he went 7-8 from behind the arc to put in a game-high and season-high 35 points.

John Wall also shot the ball exceptionally well, as he dropped in 29 points and dished out 9 assists.

Jordan Crawford was a huge factor off the bench, as he went for 21 points to go along with his four assists and three steals.

JaVale McGee had another double-double as he tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win.

There was little time to soak in the win after the game, as the team had to jump on a flight to L.A. and prepare for the Clippers.

The Wizards will go for three in a row when they do battle with the Clippers on Wednesday night at Staples Center (10:30pm).

Highlights

Postgame

WIZARDS GUARD JOHN WALL:

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WIZARDS GUARD NICK YOUNG:

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On his performance:"It was a blessing tonight. We got two in a row, my teammates were finding me, and my new signature got me going, my bow and arrow from the three-point line. It felt good out there."

On the team's shooting:"It was great from the start. J.C. came in and was playing great, and we were all feeding off of each other. We were sharing the ball. John got us going, and JaVale [McGee] was a big presence down in the paint."

On this being a signature win against a good team:"They're a good team. I don't think I've played a good game here until tonight. It just felt good getting those threes knocked down and seeing my teammates excited, them hitting shots and we were all gelling off of each other. I feel like we're turning into a good team. We just have to keep learning from it."

WIZARDS GUARD JORDAN CRAWFORD:

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On the last time the team has shot as well as tonight:"In practice. That was impressive. It made it a lot easier on each other's play."

On why he was successful tonight:"Taking shots that were available and pulling up with confidence."

On winning against a good team:"It means a lot. It shows that we can definitely compete with everybody, it's just that we have to do it every night.'

WIZARDS CENTER JAVALE MCGEE:

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WIZARDS HEAD COACH RANDY WITTMAN:

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On the win:"That's as complete a game as we've played this year. I thought our guys were in tune. We told them this is a tough place to play. The key was our start. We moved the ball as well as we've moved it tonight. Nobody was searching. The ball moved and guys hit open shots. We shot the heck out of it. We kept the crowd out of it for the most part. When they did make a run a couple times, our guys kept their composure. We saw a lot of different things down the stretch that we haven't seen as a young group. We had a couple miscues, but for the most part I thought we attacked it pretty good."

On the guards' shooting performance:"They're capable. Especially Jordan Crawford and Nick [Young] are capable shooters if it's the right shot. I thought that was one thing we did well tonight. We didn't really force a lot of things over the top of people - we moved it. John [Wall] penetrated, collapsed the defense and kicked out. Nick can get hot, and J.C. can get hot.
Both of those guys are two guys that can really shoot it, but I thought it was our ball movement all the way around that really got those shots."

On his team's resiliency when the Trail Blazers made a run:"It's a growth process. We haven't been able to do that in the past. We've kind of played scared a little bit when that happened, but we're not now. You've got first- and second-year guys that now understand that you have to continue to attack and not worry about what the other team is doing so much."